Tag Archives: FedEx

FedEx CEO to testify as U.S. lawmakers make green infrastructure push

At-a-Glance:

FedEx Corp’s chief executive, Frederick Smith, testified before Congress on March 10 as U.S. lawmakers began a fast push for a massive hike in infrastructure spending and drive toward electric vehicles. “The Business Case for Climate Solutions” is expected to include PG&E testimony about more than $400 million in programs to help customers transition to EVs. To learn more, read “FedEx CEO to testify as U.S. lawmakers make green infrastructure push.”

Key Takeaways:

  • In early March, FedEx announced it planned to become carbon-neutral by 2040 and will invest $2 billion in vehicle electrification, sustainable energy, and carbon sequestration. FedEx also said its entire parcel pickup and delivery fleet will be zero-emission electric vehicles by 2040.
  • FedEx is the latest among a number of corporations, automakers, and startup companies that are working to adopt electric-vehicle pickups and larger delivery vehicles.

Path to 100% Perspective:

Electric utilities and governments across the world are moving towards 100% carbon-free energy. To succeed, they need to not only increase renewable generation, but also to rapidly reduce the use of fossil fuels. Renewables and storage alone cannot rapidly decarbonize our power system fast enough. If corporations with the largest carbon footprints take the lead in optimizing power resources, renewable energy and flexible fuels others will follow as they pave the path to 100%.

 

Photo by Obi Onyeador on Unsplash

Can the market save the planet? FedEx is the latest brand-name firm to say it’s trying.

At-a-Glance:

Amazon, Walmart, General Motors, and now FedEx. The giant delivery company joined more than 50 other major corporations when it announced on March 3 that it too aims to be carbon-neutral by 2040 – an effort to curb climate change. Executives say that a gathering cultural change is fueled by companies responding not only to shareholders but also to the growing urgency of climate change and the concerns of their own employees and customers. To learn more, read “Can the market save the planet? FedEx is the latest brand-name firm to say it’s trying.” Reading this article may require a subscription from the news outlet.

Key Takeaways:

  • FedEx pledged an initial investment of $2 billion to start electrifying its massive fleet of more than 180,000 vehicles and $100 million for a new Yale Center for Natural Carbon Capture.
  • Some of the other companies promising to meet the 2040 carbon-neutral goal and inspire other firms to do the same have signed on to an initiative called the Climate Pledge. These companies include IBM, Microsoft, Unilever, Johnson Controls, Coca-Cola, Uber, and Best Buy.
  • Action by big utilities, refiners, and concrete manufacturers are also essential if countries are going to meet their own economy-wide goals.
  • FedEx’s pledge to Yale is part of an effort to search for novel ways to remove and store more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere using nature.

Path to 100% Perspective:

Multiple organizations, utilities and government agencies are setting ambitious clean energy goals and the need to reduce carbon emissions is real. In 2018, the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that global emissions would need to reach net-zero (or carbon-neutral) by 2050 to prevent severe climate change impacts. Electricity is a major contributor—electricity generation was responsible for approximately 33% of total CO2 emissions in the U.S. in 2018.

 

Photo by Bannon Morrissy on Unsplash